How to turn on read receipts

Problem

How can you enable and use read receipts.

Environment

  • Gmail Frontend and Backend

Solution

For administrators
  1. Open the Admin console.
  2. Go to Apps > Google Workspace > Gmail > User Settings.
  3. Click Email read receipts and select the options that best apply.
    • Do not allow email read receipts to be sent—Turns off requesting and returning read receipts.
    • Allow email read receipts to be sent to all addresses in my organization as well as the safelisted email addresses —Restricts responses to addresses in your domains and any external addresses that you specify.
      • Separate external email addresses with commas.
      • You can enter up to 100 addresses; each address can have up to 256 characters.
      • If you don't include addresses, users can return receipts only to other users in your domains.
    • Prompt the user for each read receipt request 
      • Check to ask users each time they open an email if they want to send a receipt.
      • Uncheck to automatically send read receipts.
    • Allow email read receipts to be sent to any email address—Allows read receipts to be requested and returned from email addresses inside and outside your organization. Users are always prompted to send a receipt.
  4. Click Save.
Note: Requires having the Gmail Settings administrator privilege or a super admin role.

For users
  1. Open Gmail.
  2. Click Compose.
  3. Click More options down arrow > Request read receipt.